Lean Bodies Consulting

Guest blog courtesy of Leigh Peele of Avidity Fitness.

#1 Keep it real

The biggest problem for most people is they expect the same results they had the first week to happen in the second week. Sure this can happen sometimes, especially with those who have a larger amount of fat to lose. However, you have to be realistic!

Did you really burn 12,000 excess calories than what you ate this week? If so than fantastic for you but for most of the world it looks more like 3000-5000 even with the best of dieting down efforts. Take into account the water loss and glycogen depletion you already had in the first week and you should be at a break even or slight loss the second week.

Did you know though that if you can hang on there is usually a fantastic drop and rev up the third and fourth week if you stay perfect on track? Trust me, the course may be a little slower, but it comes. Even if you watch shows like the Biggest Loser where they are burning loads of calories a week and eating a few pudding cups, they have a great first week and a crap second week.

Don’t get so caught up in the scale, it is the trend that matters. Trust the process and don’t let the doubt of “this doesn’t work” set in. It works, it is what it is. Trust it and keep it up.

#2 Keep motivated

This is the time to pull out all the inspirational stops. Here are a few ideas/items to stock in your inspire box…

* Music: I don’t care if it is New Kids or New Order. If it pumps you up listen to it and often.
* Clothes: Women AND guys find an outfit, bathing suit, etc and keep it in your constant view.
* Books/Audio Inspiration: Don’t be ashamed of a self-help section, sometimes you are all you have. Inspiration can come in many forms and text.
* Message Board/Support groups: Find people that are on the same journey and use them for help during the tough moments.

#3 Go do something you wouldn’t

You want to change? You want to be a different person or more so a better you? How exactly are you going to do that if you are playing it safe in your comfort zone?

You have got to do something different! You have to keep yourself in constant reminder of why you want to change. It is pretty easy to fall back into old patterns when you didn’t keep yourself uncomfortable to make a difference in the first place. It is easy to hide out in you safe spots with people who love you. At the core of this though you want some bigger and more. Be it a physical goal or a mental breakthrough, you have to start working for it NOW instead of when you are “done.”

#4 Everyday you must question

Why?

Everyday you must sit through and start the process all over again. Ask yourself these questions…

* What is my goal?
* What do I want?
* Who do I want to be?
* Why am I really doing this?
* Why do I really want this?
* How do I feel when I am winning at this?

Asking yourself daily important questions is going to be key to providing yourself with a lifetime of giving yourself the answers.

Today I’ve got a very insightful and thoughtful guest blog from National NPC figure competitor, Jennie Hamilton (who’s own personal blog you can find here - Eternal Health Naturally)

Diet-for-Thought

Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.

It’s quite obvious to me that our culture remains obsessed with dieting. I’m not talking balanced, long- term minded dieting but rather dieting beyond reason, becoming slaves to restriction, false control and the gratification seeing the scale move in a downward spiral brings. Along with this comes a whirlwind of hormonal fluctuations, starvation, and deprivation not just from food but from family and friends and let’s not forget the ridiculous amounts of exercise. Why do people do this? Are they gluttons for self punishment? Is this truly the only way? Perhaps it’s the only way they know how.

There is a false sense of control that comes with severe dieting. I think that’s what appeals, at least temporarily, to the vast majority of extreme dieters -the feeling of conquering the painful hunger, being able to say no to temptation and running on such low energy. It makes one feel powerful, like a false strong will. But where do these people end up once the scale stops dropping or they have reached their short-term diet goal? Short-term goals in essence are great but what matters most is how one reaches the goal and then the steps they embark on after the goal is met. Time after time the dieter finds themselves back where they began. Yet another short term goal upon them that they once fulfilled. It worked once, they do it again. The ever popular yo-yo diet enslavement continues because they know no other way.

Is there another way? Are people afraid of long-term maintainable goals? Where does this fear of being incapable of embarking on a lifelong change come from? Change, that’s what is needed. Change. Not small short-term change but rather a change of heart and purpose. It seems today there is an epidemic not only of obesity but commitment-phobia. People fall to the seduction of quick-fix, now now now, dieting propaganda that the media tries to lure us with.

I have watched endless times people “live it up” after the diet is over. After that short term goal is reached. They are not only of the physical and mental deprivation but the deep dark knowing that again they will face the same grueling challenge in the future again. The evil neurotic diet will return. They swing the pendulum from one extreme to the other. Where has the balance gone? What about the negative effects this has on our bodies and overall health? At what expense?

How does all this nonsense stop? Well as it’s said “a little common sense goes a long way”. Obviously extreme doesn’t work. Committing to a more practical long-term way of sensible, healthy eating and exercise does. Do you really want to change? Commitment is a scary thing - it’s as though people fear they’ll lose the control they once had. Remember, it’s false control. The reverse is true; you gain control of your health. Go ahead, dig your feet in and give yourself a break from this destructive bondage. Embrace the fact that it won’t always be easy but was the previous diet easy? The reward of a long-term goal is incomparable to that of the endless rollercoasters of dieting. You sprinted. Now it is time to face a marathon. It’s going to take some time but once you sign up, make the commitment and begin - there is no turning back.

You can make it happen. You have to let go of past dieting failures, and concentrate on the better way, the healthy way. The change of mind, body and attitude will evolve. You will be set free. My greatest advice is to seek help. When we have support and knowledgeable guidance, the journey somehow becomes enjoyable, doable and lifelong. Having a diet coach changes everything. A great coach goes beyond just basic knowledge and program design. A great coach is a positive mentor and leader who has a great passion for helping others. They never stop learning and evolving as a professional. They serve as a role model in mind, body and action. Erik Ledin is all of that and above. As not only my coach but a great friend, I fully put my trust in him. If you are ready to be set free from the dieting pit you’ve dug yourself in and are eager to know what it is really like to travel the road of lifelong change, then don’t hold yourself back. Come into the light.

- Jennifer Hamilton

Received a nice testimonial from a long-term client today. Ironically, this is the same woman I referred to in Part 4 of my bulking series, highlighting her recomposition.

I worked with Erik Ledin for a little over a year. I made the decision to hire him when I finally reached a point of frustration where I was just miserable. I thought that I was doing everything right. I thought that I was choosing the right foods, and I thought my training was dead on. I would look in the mirror and think “why don’t I look the way that I should?” I felt like I should have the body I wanted because I was working so hard at it. It wasn’t until I was a few weeks into my plan with Erik that I realized that what I had been doing was overtraining my body, and I wasn’t as careful with my my food as I should have been. In fact, I didn’t even own a food scale until I hired him.

- Jennifer Meyer, Colorado Springs, CO

Top 5 finisher at the 2008 IFBB North Americans - I just posted the Before & Afters (14 weeks) of Lisa Peper on the main site’s Client Picture page.

Here’s one of the befores.

Check out the ‘Afters’ as well as some more pictures here.

Lisa Peper Transformation

I just posted Ileen Natic’s before and after pictures on the main site’s Client Picture page.

Check it out here.

Ileen Natic Before & After/Current

Came across this a little while ago …

The Grind

The Grind is that time in your physique transformation where you just put your head down and grind it out.

It’s often the time between the initial fast “newbie” results and the final results. Changes are occurring in your body, but you may not see them from week to week.

Mentally, The Grind is also where some of that new program and new diet enthusiasm wears off and it all becomes routine, even boring. There’s nothing left to do or say really; you just work the plan, day to day to day.

But toward the end of The Grind, what’ll happen is that you’ll glance back at your “befores” and realize you’ve made some major changes. Other people will begin to notice. And that positive feedback will reignite the enthusiasm. And that will cause you to kick the training up a notch, leading to more results.

I think The Grind applies to life in general too, not just to losing fat and gaining muscle. There are simply times when we have to put aside all distractions (even the good ones), put our heads down, grit our teeth, and grind it out. At the end of The Grind lies an achievement, something great, or some reward or pay-off. But The Grind always comes first.

Thing is, most people won’t make this sacrifice; they won’t even begin The Grind, much less finish it. And that’s why most people don’t succeed. The Grind is often what separates the great from the average.

It’s as simple as that sometimes.

I linked to these before and after pictures of LBC client Sunny Daye in the most recent newsletter, but I thought I’d also post them on the blog.

Sunny went on to win three classes at the Pacific USA Naturals Bodybuilding and Figure Championships, taking first in Figure Short, Figure Masters Short and Figure Masters Overall.

Have you ever watched a food advertisement on television and suddenly felt you were hungry? Have you ever heard someone cough and immediately felt the need to clear your throat? Ever watched someone release a big yawn and felt the urge to yawn yourself?

That is the power of suggestion. We naturally move toward whatever we focus our attention on. The more you think about something, the stronger it takes hold of you.

That is why repeating “I must stop eating too much . . . or stop thinking about pizza . . . or stop ‘insert activity here’ is a self-defeating strategy. It keeps you focused on what you don’t want. It’s like announcing, “I’m never going to do what my mom did.” You’re setting yourself up to repeat it.

At least one of the reasons people feel most diets don’t work is because they keep you thinking about food all the time, guaranteeing that you’ll be hungry. In the same way, a speaker who keeps repeating to herself, “Don’t be nervous!” sets herself up to be nervous! Instead she should focus on anything except her feelings – on the importance of her speech, or on the needs of those listening.

Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention arouses your emotions. Then your emotions activate your behavior, and you act on what you felt. The more you focus on “I don’t want to do this,” the stronger it draws you into its web.

Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don’t argue with it, just hang up!

Sometimes this means physically leaving a tempting situation. This is one time it is okay to run away. To avoid being stung, stay away from the bees.

Do whatever is necessary to turn your attention to something else.

Today I’m posting a guest blog from LBC client Anca Saccaro, who wanted to share the stark contrast in her competition prep experience last year, relative to this year, with some photographic ‘proof’ of her progress. Anca is an example of someone who gets results because she works hard and works hard doing the right things and as a result, she’s progressed and looks better than last year. And that’s what it’s all about - making improvements. If you look the same as you did last year (and you’re trying to improve in some aesthetic sense) … chances are you’re doing something wrong.

This next month will mark two years since I started training with the specific purpose of becoming a figure competitor. At 30 years old, 25%+ bodyfat, with little muscle tone and plenty of “jiggle”, not being able to do 10 push-ups from the knees and (gasp) being a runner at heart- entering a competition was a scary decision. But I was tired of being “soft and squishy” and I was ready to do everything it took to change the way my body looked.

Thanks, Erik!

The quote in the title is one that a number of us on the Lean Bodies Fitness forum have gotten used to seeing - namely from one long-term LBC client and personal friend, Ileen Natic. It’s a quote she stands by in the pursuit of her physique goals and it’s powerful in its simplicity - if you’re going to achieve something, you have to want to achieve it. And really want it.

Rather than do Ileen any injustices in my sharing of her journey to where she is now - someone admired by many of her peers for her consistently strong effort and as a result, consistent payoff with results and physique improvements - I’m just going to post it in Ileen’s own words:

To date, I’ve lost close to 60lbs and gosh knows how much body fat. I was at at least 30% when I started tracking and heavier before I did that. Over the years, it’s been a slow and steady work of progress.

It’s been an awesome journey.

Ileen is the definition of determination.

A perfect example of what can be achieved … if you really want it.